Category: Books

Hey, everyone!!! Today I’d like to talk about a book I read recently which I really liked.

It’s about Dr. Munir Cheema’s journey through life through his services as an orthopedic surgeon. For those of you who are considering joining the field of medicine or are currently doctors/surgeons, this is especially for you. But it is a very interesting read for all.

It contains factual events in his life, what experiences he had or lacked, what obstacles were in his way, what he learnt, how people are in the medical field of any profession from top class surgeons to the security guards outside the hospital. He also added events of people he encountered. One thing I really liked about this book is that it doesn’t contain complex medical terms so you don’t have to search the definition of every word on the internet. It is a blend of ups and down, failures and successes, grief and humour, which is very fun to read. Once I picked up the book, it was difficult to put down. The book also mentions his travels to different parts of the world and how he related their situation, medical, social and political, to our situation in Pakistan.

For any book you read, you wish to learn something new or feel like a changed person from its first to its last page. For me, it was the insight in a doctor’s life. While I won’t give any spoilers, the book made me aware of the sacrifices, hard work and dedication doctors show, both mentally and physically. It is a noble but very tough job, since you’re workplace is where people are hanging by a thread between life and death, and death affects the doctor as much as the patient’s family, perhaps even more as he feels responsible for this precious life. In my country, people are employed in all kinds of professions but some people still believe doctors and engineers are the only professions and salary is good and guaranteed, so much that they force their children to consider these professions. I don’t know about engineering but being a doctor is not so simple. It requires years and years of study before you are even considered a doctor. It’s a humanitarian job. You’ve taken an oath to dedicate your life to this cause. Although the salary is high, it takes up most of your day. And most importantly, death is so common that it can cause alot of psychological distress if the person is unable to cope with what happened, whether it was his/her mistake or Allah’s will. But people here only focus on the high salary, which is sad. I’ve been told by relatives to take up this profession only due to this reason. I have considered taking up this profession, but not for money. For the service of humanity. And this book helped motivate me to consider it, because it helped me have an immense respect for the doctors who spend their blood, sweat and tears to save even one life.

At last, the best part about this book is the lessons he has learnt and the wisdom in them which are so applicable to daily life and can be reflected upon. Here are some excerpts from the book:

For those of you who haven’t read it, do give it a read. You will definitely learn something from it.